Hulu has 2 million paying subscribers

"As an online television destination, Hulu is something of a teenager now, sometimes tolerating feuding parents and succeeding perhaps in spite of them. Hulu is growing steadily, despite disagreements among its corporate owners, and the new restrictions those owners have placed on free streaming of network shows.
This week Hulu will announce that it has topped two million subscribers for its $8-a-month Hulu Plus service in the first quarter, half a million more than it had at the end of 2011. But it has not been an easy path to growth."

Source:  New York Times, 16th April 2012

The technology use of American mothers

"BabyCenter®, LLC, the #1 pregnancy and parenting mobile and web destination worldwide, today released its 2012 American Media Mom report, the latest installment of BabyCenter's 21st Century Mom® Insights Series. At an exclusive gathering of media industry luminaries at the Time Warner Center this morning, the research detailed the dramatic reshaping of the family media ecosystem. The findings were the result of in-home interviews with moms, survey research among over 2,500 moms and other online adults, and a three-screen behavior analysis with Nielsen.
Mom uses the latest digital devices as necessities—not luxuries—to help her master the changing media landscape for herself and her family as she takes on the new role of Family Media Manager. Compared with the general population, moms over-index on ownership and usage of EVERY digital device, including laptops, digital cameras, DVRs, and gaming consoles. In particular, she is 38% more likely than the general population to own an Internet TV device (e.g. Apple TV, Roku), 28% more likely to use a tablet, and 38% more likely to own a smartphone.
[...]
While smartphones continue to be Mom's "remote control for her life," new media disruptors are taking center stage. Tablets, Internet TV, and online video are drastically reshaping the family media experience. Compared to three years ago, over one third of the general population says that they are spending less time watching live TV or reading magazines or newspapers. This pattern is even more exaggerated for Moms – they are 2/3 more likely to say that they spend less time with live TV and radio. And, moms are more than 50% more likely to say that they are spending more time with online video and internet TV than the general online population.
In the year since we unveiled BabyCenter's 21st Century Mobile Mom® Report, smartphone adoption among mothers has increased another 10 percent to 65%. According to Nielsen's Mobile Insights data from Q4 2011, Mom smartphone owners are more likely to use their devices to their fullest capacities than the general population. For instance, she is texting and using social media on her mobile device at a higher rate. Mom is also 53% more likely to use mobile banking applications and 58% more likely to shop via her mobile phone compared to the general population.
The Family Media Manager Runs the Show
[...]
Whether it's watching her favorite shows during some downtime, doling out her kids' YouTube playlist during a long car trip, or tapping into her social graph for opinions on products and services when she's in-store, she will adopt the formats that allow her to maximize her time. According to Nielsen's behavioral data, Mom's spend twice as much time online monthly: 66 hours versus 33 hours for the general population, and spends 63% more time streaming online video. We also found that Mom is 45% more likely to use social media regularly compared to the general population. In short: flexibility and efficiency rule Mom's media day.
More Devices = More Media
It is not a zero sum media game for moms. Multiple devices do not seem to be taking away time from any one media platform. On average, moms are spending 10.9 hours daily with media. According to the 2012 American Media Mom report, those who own an Internet TV device spend over 3 additional hours with media, and moms who own a smartphone, tablet AND Internet TV device are spending over 7 additional hours with media—which adds up to over 17 hours per day—in large part because of mom's heightened ability to multitask with devices and media.
Moms are media multitaskers when it comes to video. Half say that they are always or often talking to someone else or using social media while watching TV. 40% are also going online on their tablet, mobile phone or texting someone while watching TV. And 1 in 4 are talking on the phone at the same time. Moms are twice as likely to be using social media or texting while they are watching videos, 3 in 4 moms say that they skip all of the ads they can while watching television content; a rate that is 20% higher than the general online population.
Her Path to the Register Has Evolved
In BabyCenter's 2011 Shopping Rituals of the American Mom Report, we saw that the purchase funnel has been upended. In the six months since we unveiled that data, mom's reliance on mobile throughout the purchase process has dramatically increased. Usage of mobile media for getting product ideas has risen from 20% to 36%; usage of mobile product/brand recommendations has grown from 17% to 33%; using mobile for feature comparisons has risen from 21% to 37%; mobile for price comparison review grew from 28% to 45%; finding coupons or deals shifted from 22% to 31%; deciding where to buy has nearly doubled from 16% to 30%. Additionally, one in 5 moms have scanned a barcode for price comparisons in the past 30 days, and 9% regularly scan QR codes."
Source:  Press release from BabyCenter, 19th April 2012
Methodology:   "The findings in BabyCenter's 2012 American Media Mom report are the result of qualitative research, quantitative survey data, and three-screen behavioral data with Nielsen. We conducted in-home interviews with new and expecting moms in Chicago and San Francisco in February 2012 through our research partner Gallin Group. In addition, we conducted in-depth survey research on media behaviors and attitudes among 1100 new and expecting moms through BabyCenter's 21st Century Media Panel as well as 1400 non-moms (referred to as general population) using Socratic's online panel. Finally, Nielsen provided a three-screen behavioral analysis across Television, Online and Mobile behavior comparing BabyCenter's moms to persons 18+."

Xbox households in the US spend an average of 84 hours a month on online services

"Yusuf Mehdi, who heads up marketing and strategy for Microsoft's Xbox business, said households now spend an average of 84 hours a month on the Xbox Live online service playing games, watching videos and listening to music. That's up 30% from a year ago. Just over half that time is spent on videos and music.
By comparison, the average household spend about 150 hours a month watching television.
"What we're seeing is that people are turning on the Xbox to play games and then keeping it on afterwards to get other types of entertainment," Mehdi said."

Source:  LA Times, 26th March 2012

Stats on tablet users & usage

"Today's Tablet User
"Tapping Into Tabletomics" also offers a snapshot of today's tablet user:
62% use their tablets daily
Daily tablet users spend an average of 2.4 hours per day on their tablets
85% of tablet use is for personal reasons versus business
77% of tablet use is alone
74% of tablet usage is done at home
Most media activities on the tablet, such as playing games and watching TV shows, peak with the 18-24 demo
The research reveals emotional connections to this device unlike any other in the household. More than 50% of respondents said their tablet makes them feel happier and more relaxed, while 49% said tablets make them more effective at managing life. Forty percent agree that "my tablet brings out the best in me" and 39% said tablets boost creativity.
One participant succinctly summed up her close relationship with her tablet: "The iPad is my form of entertainment, relaxation, fun, and opportunity to get information. It's my personal space, in a sense." However, not all tablet users feel the same. "Tapping into Tabletomics" revealed varying degrees of tablet love across four distinct segments of tablet users.
Power Trippers (18%): younger users, often male, that love their tablets and use them for everything.
Cool & Efficient (23%): frequent users that rely on tablets to be useful above anything else.
Happy-go-lucky (28%): light users that view tablets as a friendly source of enjoyment and entertainment.
Proceeding with Caution (31%): the lightest and often less technologically-savvy users that stick to basic activities.
Rush continued, "We found that the tablet is a jack of many trades - it offers video and social experiences, it's a source of information and it's portable. But despite its versatility, other devices prove irreplaceable."
While tablets provide both emotional and functional benefits, most tablet owners are not ready to purge their smartphones, laptops or gaming consoles. A vast majority, 65%, would replace their laptop before their tablet because it lacks the work functionality, and 77% would replace their iPhone before their iPad."
Source:  Data from Viacom's "Tapping Into Tabletomics", reported in a press release, 17th April 2012
Methodology:  "Drawing on a national online survey of more than 2,500 people ages 8-54 as well as qualitative, in-depth interviews with dedicated tablet users in New York and Los Angeles, "Tapping into Tabletomics" found that, in just a few years, tablets have risen to second-screen prominence for full-length TV (FLTV) show viewing, ahead of computers. Out of total time spent watching FLTV shows, 15% of viewing occurs on tablets."

Mad Men is reportedly costing Sky TV £5 per viewer per episode

"It was poached from the BBC with much fanfare by Sky, which reportedly bid three times as much for the rights.
But the satellite broadcaster may be regretting its decision to snap up American advertising drama Mad Men.
Viewing figures sank to just 47,000 for the third episode of the fifth series on the Sky Atlantic channel on Tuesday night.
That’s an alarming drop from the 355,000 viewers who watched the premiere of the fourth series when it was on BBC4.
It is understood that Sky is paying about £250,000 an episode for the glossy 1960s drama. Based on Tuesday’s figures, that amounts to more than £5 per viewer."

Source:  Daily Mail, 6th April 2012

People who engage with social media while watching TV watch more live TV as a result

"A new study from iModerate Research Technologies, a leading qualitative research firm, shows the tremendous impact Social TV, the act of connecting with people via social networks while watching television, has on viewing. The hybrid, qualitative-quantitative study with males and females who engage in Social TV at least once a week uncovered that 58% of heavy engagers (more than 10 times a week) watch more live TV because they need to be part of the conversation in real-time. According to the study, Social TV has also made these viewers into more active consumers and influencers. To that end, a third of respondents said their primary reason for engaging in Social TV was either to give feedback to the television network or show support for their television program."

Source:  Press release from iModerate Research Technologies, 26th March 2012

Mobile web users spend more time with the mobile web than TV

"Mobile ad network InMobi has just published its Mobile Media Consumption Q4 2011 Survey, which questioned over 20,000 mobile consumers in 18 markets across all continents.
It found that mobile has surpassed TV in terms of time spent, with mobile web users spending 27 per cent of their media time on mobile and 22 per cent of their media time on TV
It also revealed that three quarters planning to conduct m-commerce activities within the next year (76 per cent) while 42 per cent say that mobile advertising has introduced them to something new."

Source:  Mobile Entertainment, 28th February 2012

TV is the most effective medium for driving traffic to websites

"Television is still the most effective advertising channel in driving traffic to websites, according to a new survey by Deloitte.
The sixth annual ‘State of the Media Democracy’ report, based on responses from 2,276 UK consumers aged between 14 and 75 years old, found that 64% of respondents had visited a website after seeing an advert on TV.
61% said they visited a website after seeing a magazine ad, 59% said a newspaper ad drove them online, while only 12% of respondents said a mobile app advert had prompted them to visit a brand's site.
A further 62% of respondents said they paid more attention to newspaper adverts than their online equivalents.
Deloitte said that online display advertising had actually lost ground year-on-year, in 2010 only 49% of respondents said they paid more attention to print than online.
The power of TV advertising is to be expected, as the survey also found that 98% of people chose TV services as their favourite type of media."

Source:  Econsultancy, 19th March 2012

More than a third of 18-35s in Europe watch their favourite sports teams online

"Across Europe, the Web has surpassed TV as the primary platform for 18-to-35 viewers to watch their favorite sport, according to new research conducted by Havas Sport & Entertainment for the Global Sports Forum Barcelona.
A full 36.1% of this prized demographic sign in online to watch their favorite sport or team play on a weekly basis, compared with just 32.1% who do so on television. This marks a significant shift from a year ago, when similar research conducted by Havas found the Europeans of prime age still preferred their sports on a TV.
Advertisers, content providers, broadcasters, rightsholders and athletes will all be affected, according to Lucien Boyer, President and CEO of Havas Sport & Entertainment and General Commissioner of the GSFB.
“The implications of this are huge and suggest the broadcast sales model for sport needs to be carefully considered in the future,” Boyer warned. “Whilst TV will clearly continue to remain of enormous importance, the younger generation choose to consume sport in a number of ways. The key now is to be a content provider that can satisfy the demands of sports fans across all platforms.”"
Source:  MediaPost, 1st March 2012

Netflix members watched 2 billion hours of streaming video in Q4 2011

"Netflix Inc. said today its members instantly watched more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix in the fourth quarter of 2011.
With more than 20 million streaming members globally, Netflix has revolutionized entertainment by allowing people to enjoy TV shows and movies when, where and how they want with a click of a remote, mouse or the touch of a screen.
"We were thrilled to deliver more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies across 45 countries in the fourth quarter," said Netflix Co-Founder and CEO Reed Hastings. "Netflix delights members by giving them choice, convenience and control over the entertainment they love for an incredibly low price.""

Source:  Press release from Netflix, 4th January 2012

There are fewer than 1m Google TVs in use - estimate

"Google and its partners have never said how many Google TV devices were bought by consumers since the platform’s debut, but the company said in the past that device activations have doubled since the  Google TV 2.0 software update late last year. A Google spokesperson declined to comment on any numbers for this story. However, there are some very useful clues hidden within Google’s Android Market statistics: Google publishes ballpark numbers about each and every app’s active install base — the number of devices an app is installed on right now — as part of its Market app pages.
Google TV comes with a number of pre-installed apps, which are also listed on the Android Market. One example of this is the TV and Movies app, which is basically Google TV’s programming guide — an essential part of the Google TV experience that most users wouldn’t dare to delete from their machines. The active install base for this app, according to Google’s Android Market, currently is 500,000 to 1 million. The same is true for all the other apps that come pre-installed with Google TV, which suggests that the number of Google TV devices that are currently being used by consumers is less than 1 million.
This data is supported by findings from Xyologic, which recently estimated that the install base for various preinstalled apps ranges from around 600,000 to 900,000 devices. I asked Xyologic co-founder Matthäus Krzykowski how the company gathers its data, and he told me that it estimates the install base of apps based on a number of data points, and usually only sees error margins of a few percentage points."

Source:  GigaOm, 28th February 2012

There were 3.4m comments in social media about the Oscars

"Social TV tracker Bluefin Labs counted 3.44 million “social comments” about last night’s Oscar awards. That metric, which primarily tracks Twitter usage but also includes some data from Facebook and other services, is certainly big. But it’s much smaller than two other big live-TV events this month. Bluefin counted some 12 million comments for the Super Bowl, and 13 million for the Grammys."

Source:  AllThingsD, 26th February 2012

Offline advertising spend grew 13% in China in 2011

"According to Chinese ad spend figures released by CCTV market research subsidiary CTR, China's traditional advertising market (comprising television, print, radio, and outdoor media) grew by 13% YoY in 2011, the same rate as in 2010. Television advertising revenues grew by 13%; radio advertising revenues, by 28%; outdoor media, by 1%, with 26% growth in subway advertising and 25% and 34% growth, respectively, in public transportation TV displays and LCD screens installed in office buildings. The top five industries by ad spending in 2011 were cosmetics and bathing products, business and service industries, beverages, foods, and medicine."

Source:  Xinhaunet, via Marbridge Daily, 14th February 2012

41% of ad-related searches during the Super Bowl came from mobile devices

"Multi-tasking while watching TV isn't new, but nowadays smartphones and tablets are also becoming popular couch companions. Mobile devices have driven increases in total searches because of their always on, always-with-you nature. During the Super Bowl, 41% of Google searches in the US related to Super Bowl TV ads came from mobile devices. By looking at a selection of specific Super Bowl related queries both during the game and one week before, we found that the number of searches on these terms increased at a significant rate across all devices and was particularly high for mobile. Super Bowl ad related searches in the US rose 200% on desktop, 970% on tablets and a whopping 2700% on smartphones."

Source:  Google Mobile Ads Blog, 7th February 2012

The 2012 Grammy Awards was the most social TV event ever

"Last week we saw explosive growth in social TV with a record-breaking 12.2 million social media comments during the Super Bowl. The trend continued last night with the 54th Annual Grammy Awards setting a new record of 13 million comments – a 2,280% year over year growth from the 2011 Grammy Awards, which had 546K comments.
So what got people commenting last night? The first big spike in responses occurred when Chris Brown took the stage, though much of the sentiment was negative and related to past domestic abuse issues. After that, Adele was a popular topic with people tweeting up a storm during her 10pm performance. When she won Album of the Year for “21″ at 11:20pm, the comments poured in with 489K responses over a five minute period."

Source:  Data from Bluefin, reported in a blog post, 13th February 2012

The number of 'internet only' TV homes in the US rose 23% Y-o-Y in Q3 2011

"Characterizing it as a “development to watch,” Nielsen issued a new report to clients Wednesday showing that the number of U.S. households that bypass cable or satellite TV and subscribe only to broadband Internet access has grown dramatically in the past year, and not surprisingly, they spend dramatically more time watching TV over the Internet.
The Nielsen report said it is too soon to determine whether these households are so-called “cord-swappers”  - swapping the cable/satellite TV cord for the broadband Internet cord - but they are growing faster than any other segment of the “cross-platform” television marketplace.
While the percentage of Internet-only TV homes is still relatively small - less than 5% of all TV households - they grew 22.8% over the past year, according to the report, which reflects data for the third quarter of 2011 vs. the third quarter of 2010."

Source:  MediaPost, 9th February 2012

Super Bowl advertisers achieved over $11m value in 'free' online views in the 3 days after the event

"Online views have effectively returned a huge chunk of Honda’s Super Bowl investment, as the automaker earned itself some $4.42 million in free media impressions in the three days after Super Bowl XLVI.
According to a new study by Kantar Video, the automaker aired two spots in the Super Bowl that enjoyed a whole new life online after the game. Through Feb. 8, Honda’s spoof of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, starring Matthew Broderick, was viewed 14.8 million times on YouTube and other online destinations, for an “earned media” value of $2.24 million.
Also drawing a crowd online was the Acura NSX spot starring Jerry Seinfeld. The ad, which featured cameos from the Soup Nazi and a usurping Jay Leno, was viewed 18.5 million times on YouTube, generating $2.18 million in free exposure.
Based on the average unit cost of $3.5 million per 30 seconds of airtime, each one-minute spot recouped nearly 33 percent of its original cost.
[...]

All told, the roster of Super Bowl ads churned up some $11.1 million in incremental free online views. The top 10 spots alone accounted for $8.62 million of the total, on 95.2 million views."

Source:  AdWeek, 13th February 2012

Nike's TV & press advertising budgets in the US have fallen, while marketing spend has risen

"Just try to recall the last couple of Nike commercials you saw on television. Don't be surprised when you can't. Nike's spending on TV and print advertising in the U.S. has dropped by 40% in just three years, even as its total marketing budget has steadily climbed upward to hit a record $2.4 billion last year. "There's barely any media advertising these days for Nike," says Brian Collins, a brand consultant and longtime Madison Avenue creative executive."

Source:  Fortune, 13th February 2012

77% of young people use a smartphone to help decide what film to watch

"Seventy seven percent of people aged 18-34 decide which film to watch with their smartphone, according to research commissioned by Odyssey Mobile Interaction.
The study included 600 iOS and Android users in the UK, Germany and France and found that they use their devices to access trailers, find local cinemas and book tickets. Of that group, 36% use their device for this on a weekly basis whilst 64% use it monthly.
The study also found that 58% of the same demographic are likely to click on a banner to watch a film trailer they are interested in on their device whilst the market average is 23%. Consumers are also using the mobile devices in reaction to traditional media with 53% using smartphones to follow up on TV ads and 42% following up on poster ads.
The study took place at the end of 2011 and was conducted by Dres Consulting."

Source:  M&M Global, 6th February 2012

Super Bowl 2012 broke TV viewing records with an average of 111.3m viewers

"The New York Giants’ 21-17 win over the New England Patriots in last night’s Super Bowl was seen by an average of 111.3 million people, the biggest audience in U.S. television history, according Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBC network.
The viewership total for the game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis narrowly topped last year’s record of 111 million for the Green Bay Packers’ Super Bowl win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, NBC said in a news release.
The game was seen in an average of 47 percent of U.S. homes, the best rating since 1986 when the Chicago Bears’ win over the Patriots drew a 48.3 rating. Yesterday’s 47 rating is the sixth highest in Super Bowl history.
This was the seventh straight year of Super Bowl-record viewership. It peaked at 117.7 million during its final half- hour, as the Giants’ Eli Manning directed a late-game touchdown drive that gave New York the lead, and a desperation game-ending throw to the end zone by New England’s Tom Brady fell incomplete. It was the Giants’ fourth Super Bowl title and second in five years.
An average of 114 million viewers watched the halftime show that featured Madonna, the most for a championship halftime show that featured entertainment, which dates back to 1991. More than four million fewer people watched the Black Eyed Peas at halftime a year ago."

Source:  Bloomberg, 6th February 2012